Civic Park is a new sports venue that the community of Eugene, Oregon is excited to see coming to life. Prior to becoming the new Civic Park, the sports venue was called Civic Stadium and it stood as a beloved part of the Eugene community from 1938 until it was destroyed by fire in 2015.

Venue History

Civic Stadium was originally built for high school football and baseball and was owned by the local school district until 1969 when it became the home of the Eugene Emeralds minor league baseball team. The stadium was one of the ten oldest active minor league baseball facilities in the country before the Emeralds departure in 2009.

The stadium sat empty for a few years as the school district considered redevelopment options. The future of the venue was uncertain and in 2011 it made the list of Restore Oregon’s top 10 Most Endangered Places in Oregon.

Eugene Civic Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation made up of community members, was founded in 2014 and raised $4.5 million to purchase the historic Civic Stadium 10-acre property in 2015.

Eugene Civic Alliance Fire Aftermath
Courtesy of Wikipedia User EdditoVulgata

Rising from the Ashes

Just two months after the Eugene Civic Alliance purchased the property, the old, historic wood structure burned to the ground. With no grandstands to renovate, the property was cleared and the Eugene Civic Alliance broke ground in October 2018 on a community youth sports complex.

The $30 million-dollar phase one of the project is well underway and progress is visible daily. The initial construction phase includes a multi-sport, synthetic-turf field, 1,000 bleacher seats, a parking lot and a 40,000 square-foot fieldhouse. The fieldhouse will also be home to KIDSPORTS, a private non-profit organization that provides youth sports programs for pre-K through 12th graders in Eugene/Springfield and surrounding areas.

The fieldhouse will have four middle school-size basketball courts which can be converted into two NCAA-size courts. The courts can also be used for other sports such as volleyball, pickleball, badminton, and futsal. The outdoor turf field will be built to FIFA standards and will accommodate any sport played on a rectangular field. Measuring 250′ x 400′ with a 12-foot apron surrounding the playing surface, the field can host collegiate and professional soccer matches, football, rugby, lacrosse, and ultimate Frisbee. The field can also be divided into multiple smaller fields for youth sports tournaments and camps.

Completion of the first phase is expected to be complete by spring of 2020.

Eugene Civic Alliance Top View Final RenderingCourtesy of Eugene Civic Alliance

The Ultimate Vision

The second phase of construction will expand the bleachers to 2,500 seats and complete the stadium with a press box, locker rooms, ticket booth, and concourse.

Along with providing a much-needed space for youth sports programs, Civic Park will also be home to Lane United Football Club, a local soccer team that plays in the Premier Development League, the highest-level amateur soccer league in the country.

For additional information, or to book an upcoming sporting event, contact the Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Commission or the Eugene Civic Alliance.